Chapter 967 — An Unexpected Connection
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Just as on his arrival, Gaoyang once again made use of Heragor's power—something close to spatial teleportation—to leave the upper sanctum atop the high mountain. When the pale golden radiance gradually dispersed, he and the high-ranking dragon priest were already standing on a terraced plaza halfway up the mountain.
Magnificent large-scale holographic projections and omnipresent neon lights illuminated the place. At the edge of the plaza, Gaoyang saw Meicen Ponia, who had been waiting there, along with Amber and Virodai standing beside her.
They had presumably been notified in advance and had come to this plaza to wait.
"It seems your friends are already waiting for you," Heragor said, turning back to Gaoyang. "So I will see you off here."
As the dragon priest spoke, layer upon layer of pale golden halos were already rippling around him, but before his figure began to fade, Gaoyang finally could not hold back and spoke up: "Mr. Heragor—"
Heragor paused: "Yes?"
"Do you remember anything from before you became a dragon priest?"
"I am sorry. It was too long ago."
Accompanied by the golden halos gradually dissipating in the night sky, the figure of this high-ranking dragon priest had completely vanished from Gaoyang's sight.
Meicen and the others came hurrying over from not far away. Amber was the first to plant herself in front of Gaoyang, her eyes wide: "Hey! You really were gone a long time this time! What did you all talk about? Oh, right—did you know there was a huge wind outside just now! There even seemed to be a thunderstorm on the mountain for a while. Too bad I didn't get to see it from Meicen's place..."
Gaoyang looked at this disgrace of the Empire, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on his face: "...We talked about a lot of things. I'll tell you slowly once we're back. As for the wind, I did hear some of it."
"...So mysterious," Amber grumbled. "I was just analyzing it with Virodai—whether you might have been kidnapped by that dragon god. I'd almost finished planning our escape route..."
Beside her, Virodai immediately shot Amber a severe look: "Miss Amber, please be mindful of your words."
"I have to express my respect for you," Meicen said, looking Gaoyang up and down with an expression of admiration. "It is rare to see anyone who can hold a conversation with Mr. Heragor... I saw you just now, striking up a conversation with the high-ranking priest on your own initiative..."
Gaoyang merely smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.
They walked toward the exit of the plaza. Meicen's residence was on the other side of the ramp, but before setting foot on the slope leading to Meicen's dragon nest, Gaoyang could not help but lift his head again and look at the star-filled Arctic night sky.
The stars twinkled in his field of view. Even though Talund was forever shrouded in a layer of "man-made" lamplight, this omnipresent "light pollution" had unexpectedly failed to completely obscure the stars in the Arctic night sky—only at this moment did Gaoyang realize this anomalous fact, and so his gaze toward the night sky could not help but take on a certain contemplation and wonder.
This was by no means a normal optical phenomenon. Judging from the information he had recently gathered, it did not seem to be a special function of Talund's great shield either. The starry sky seen from the most brilliantly lit district of the dragon nation was still so bright—behind this seemingly unremarkable "scenery"... there seemed to hide a miracle that had lasted for a million years.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Amber noticed Gaoyang's movement and could not help but hop over from the side, tilting her head up at the sky along with him. "Is there something... stargazing?"